In an episode of 'Pride' podcast, the Raven Baxter depicter on 'That's So Raven' stresses that she doesn't want to 'represent the LGBTQ+ community in any way' though she's a proud member.

• Sep 9, 2021

AceShowbiz - While Raven-Symone is an out and proud member of the LGBTQ community, she refused to make her iconic character a lesbian on "Raven's Home", a sequel series to "That's So Raven". In a new interview, the Raven Baxter depicter revealed the reasons why.

During an interview with Levi Chambers in an episode of the "Pride" podcast, the 35-year-old actress said, "You know what, there was a conversation before the series started and I was asked the question, 'Would you like Raven Baxter to be a lesbian?' And I said, no. I said no." She then divulged, "And the reason I said no wasn't because I wasn't proud of who I was."

"I didn't want to represent the LGBTQ+ community in any way. It was because Raven Baxter is Raven Baxter is Raven Baxter," Raven-Symone further explained. The former "The View" co-host continued, "There was no reason for me to change the human that she was in order to fit the actress that played her. And Raven Baxter is a character that I was proud to play, even if she is straight, cisgender, I don't mind. Let her have her moment."

The one thing that was important for Raven-Symone was that her character was divorced and wasn't dating anyone on the hit supernatural sitcom series. She said, "I had no worries about saying, 'No boyfriends.' "

Raven-Symone, who married her wife Miranda Maday in a private ceremony in June 2020, joked that the "quiet undertones" of her character living with Chelsea Daniels, played by Anneliese van der Pol, "was enough" to imply her private life. "Not that that was a true statement, that was never the intention of living with my best friend, but, you know, people say stuff that is just hilarious. But I didn't want to change who [Raven Dexter] was," she added.

"When you really start blending your personal self with your character self, it's even harder. Like, I'm stereotyped for the rest of my life. Let's just keep it 100," Raven-Symone went on saying. The Disney star then elaborated, "If you ever see me in another character, you see Raven Baxter and that's just what the deal is. I think the one thing that differentiates me from her is now a lot more."